Is Thermage Best for Post Liposuction Skin Tightening?

There are a few options for tightening skin with lipo but nothing magic. I presented some research recently showing that Thermage after lipo resulted in about 40% more skin tightening than lipo alone. The catch is that it has to be done immediately after, while the tumescent infusion is still there. Laser-assisted liposuction has also presented some data, not as much tightening as Thermage, but again it has to be done at the time of the liposuction. One thing that all of these technologies have in common is that younger patients get a better response, so Thermage may still be worth considering. Results still vary from patient to patient.

I have seen few patients with satisfactory outcomes from Thermage. In fact, I have seen many patients that complain about the results. Therefore, I am extremely reluctant to advise its use. If we could make skin act like shrink wrap, we would not have to perform face lifts, tummy tucks, breast lifts, etc. In your case, I would encourage muscle toning to promote displacement of the skin with muscle mass.

In my experience, I have been pleased with the use of Thermage on the body. Liposuction itself does result in some skin tightening, however, often times with large volume liposuction, there may be some excess skin laxity which is properly addressed with Thermage. I have used Thermage on the banana rolls on the buttock and found significant lifting in the area.

Thermage is ideal for buttock and and saddle bags tightening in women.  However, after liposuction are removing excess fat and the amount of loose skin can be problematic.  In these post-surgical cases I am not certain that Thermage will meet your expectations.  This is one of the problems with liposuction in general.  Thermage works best in tightening the skin in these areas and cellulite reduction but is not a cure for a surgical side effect.  Please let me know what happens and what you decide.  If you had undergone Zeltiq and Thermage rather than liposuction you would probably have been happier.

Thermage is a good option. Many of my patients have been satisfied with the results. The new 16 cm body tip gives better results with short treatment time. However, the improvement may not be entirely to your satisfaction. Even Plastic surgery cannot offer you a perfect result.

It would have been more instructive to see your current appearance rather than your pre-operative appearance. That being said, I am NOT a big fan of Thermage and think it is a technology struggling to maintain its rapidly slipping foothold due to some major drawbacks. I encourage you to read up on the Sciton BBL SkinTyte technology which uses intense pulse light to shrink the skin and create subdermal collagen.
Good Luck.
Dr. P. Aldea

If your doctor would be willing to refund your money as a courtesy if you weren't happy with Thermage, then do it! But I suspect he/she won't be willing to do that and you would stand a significant chance of joining that large group of patients who have been very disappointed with their skin not shrinking well after Thermage.